Hey Stephanie Gilmore, Did We Just Become Best Friends?

What are you can’t-sleep-at-night-passionate about? 
“The Olympics. Surfing and being in the Olympics for the very first time … that’s definitely keeping me up at night.” 

Advice to your younger self? 
“Read more books. Be more glamorous. Eat less sugar.” 

... Glamorous? 
“Well, my younger self was such a tomboy … I was so afraid to dress up and be feminine and be girly. I thought that I had to be a boy to surf like the boys. It’s not until later in life that I realised that you can be fierce and fabulous at the same time.”

Any regrets? 
“A lot, actually. But they’re the best ones because you learn from them. You learn not to make the same mistakes again.”

Do you have a mantra? Do you even believe in mantras? 
“Yeah, I believe in mantras. I feel like mine changes all the time though. I can make one up on the day, or one that I follow throughout the year. But they’re usually just pretty simple. ‘Never underestimate yourself’. And, ‘rock and roll’. For 2020? 'Quality over quantity'.”

Travel …  what’s your most ‘oh wow’ moment? 
“Surfing in Iceland. Something I’ll never forget. Iceland is not a place you think of as a surfing destination, for one. And also just going there, you feel like you’re in the land before time. You’re surfing alongside glaciers and snow-capped mountains and it’s just the most radical experience. The water is freezing cold, it’s snowing on you while you’re in the surf and there’s nobody around. It embodies that spirit of adventure, the thing we chase after as surfers all the time.”

What’s your outlet, the one thing you do to escape? 
“Playing the guitar, listening to good music.  I just love listening to new music, old music, any music. You can be anywhere in the world, somewhere you really don’t want to be, like standing in line at the airport and putting on a good song can just take you to that special place.”

So what have you been listening to lately? 
“I listen to everything. A lot of Nina Simone, lots of Led Zeppelin. I love Brittney Howard – she’s amazing, so good – and then a little bit of Frank Ocean and … well, I go everywhere. Slayer even. I don’t really mind, I can kind of listen to anything.”

And any vices?
“I’m definitely competitive, but it worked out alright.”